Special Exhibition Celebrating the Cheonggyecheon Museum’s 20th Anniversary
《The Day and Night of Cheonggyecheon》
“When the evening sun cast its glow over the shantytown, even this chaotic and
impoverished neighborhood shimmered gold and seemed almost beautiful.
Within it, the vibrant will to live and the hopes of the struggling people appeared
all the more radiant.”
_ Kim Seong-hwan
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Cheonggyecheon Museum is holding a special exhibition titled The Day and Night of Cheonggyecheon. This exhibition presents a collection of paintings depicting Cheonggyecheon Stream by Kim Seong-hwan, an artist and cartoonist best known for his four-panel satirical comic strip Gobau Yeonggam.
Kim Seong-hwan’s paintings vividly capture scenes around Cheonggyecheon Stream from the 1950s to the 1970s, portraying the daily lives of the diverse people who lived and worked there. Although it was a time of great scarcity, Kim’s affectionate perspective, summed up in his words “even the shabby shanties look romantic under the moonlight,” invites viewers to experience the stories of the day and night of Cheonggyecheon Stream.
This year marks 20 years since Cheonggyecheon Stream was restored and returned to the public as a revitalized waterway. The shantytown that had once formed and lined the stream, as well as the elevated highway that symbolized modernization, are now all gone. Hopefully, this exhibition will help visitors reconnect with the lives of those who had to endure poverty and hardship but lived through those times with great determination.
